Indo-Bangla railway set for trial run

05 Sep 2023 CW Team

On August 26, P Kumaran, the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), visited the Nischintapur railway yard and conducted a meeting with representatives from the railway and IRCON, alongside officials from entities like BSF, Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), Customs, Immigration, and the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

On August 27, Kumaran, accompanied by Tripura Transport Secretary U K Chakma and railway officials, visited Gangasagar in Bangladesh to assess the actual conditions on the ground. On the same day, they performed a trial run using a gang car, travelling from Gangasagar to Nischintapur.

The official provided an update, stating, "P Kumaran, the Additional Secretary in MEA, inspected the Nischintapur railway yard and conducted a meeting with relevant officials to assess the readiness for the launch of the Indo-Bangla railway link connecting Nischintapur with Gangasagar. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is overseeing the entire process, with the goal of having a freight train operational from Gangasagar to Nishchantapur around September 9 or 10."

To facilitate the operation of freight trains, preparations are essential for customs, immigration, internet services, and security. The official added that the MEA will collaborate with the Ministry of Home Affairs to establish Customs and Immigration facilities at Nischintapur.

An IRCON official remarked, "Both construction agencies, IRCON on the Indian side and TexMaco Rail Engineering on the Bangladesh side, are ready to initiate trial runs of freight trains on the newly constructed track from Gangasagar to Agartala, tentatively scheduled for September 9 or 10." An estimated Rs 11 billion has been invested in the Indo-Bangla railway project, connecting Agartala with Gangasagar.

A senior official has disclosed that a trial run for the railway line connecting Nischintapur in Tripura to Gangasagar railway station in Bangladesh is scheduled for either September 9 or 10. Initially, this phase will involve the introduction of freight trains from Gangasagar to Nischintapur, with plans to later extend the service to Agartala station.On August 26, P Kumaran, the Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), visited the Nischintapur railway yard and conducted a meeting with representatives from the railway and IRCON, alongside officials from entities like BSF, Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI), Customs, Immigration, and the National Informatics Centre (NIC).On August 27, Kumaran, accompanied by Tripura Transport Secretary U K Chakma and railway officials, visited Gangasagar in Bangladesh to assess the actual conditions on the ground. On the same day, they performed a trial run using a gang car, travelling from Gangasagar to Nischintapur.The official provided an update, stating, P Kumaran, the Additional Secretary in MEA, inspected the Nischintapur railway yard and conducted a meeting with relevant officials to assess the readiness for the launch of the Indo-Bangla railway link connecting Nischintapur with Gangasagar. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is overseeing the entire process, with the goal of having a freight train operational from Gangasagar to Nishchantapur around September 9 or 10.To facilitate the operation of freight trains, preparations are essential for customs, immigration, internet services, and security. The official added that the MEA will collaborate with the Ministry of Home Affairs to establish Customs and Immigration facilities at Nischintapur.An IRCON official remarked, Both construction agencies, IRCON on the Indian side and TexMaco Rail Engineering on the Bangladesh side, are ready to initiate trial runs of freight trains on the newly constructed track from Gangasagar to Agartala, tentatively scheduled for September 9 or 10. An estimated Rs 11 billion has been invested in the Indo-Bangla railway project, connecting Agartala with Gangasagar.

Real Estate

05 Dec 2025

RBI Rate Cut Boosts Confidence Across Housing Market

Industry Context and Market DynamicsThe real estate industry has welcomed the RBI’s rate cut as a timely boost to affordability and demand. With home prices having risen steadily across major markets, even a marginal reduction in interest rates meaningfully strengthens purchasing power, especially for first-time and mid-income buyers.Ashish Jerath, President – Sales & Marketing, Smartworld Developers, observes:“The RBI’s 25-basis-point cut, bringing the repo rate down to 5.25%, is a timely boost for the real estate sector. Lower interest rates reduce borrowing costs, enabling homeb..

Infrastructure Transport

05 Dec 2025

BMC Resumes Rs 170 Billion Road Works, Targets 80 per cent By Jan 2026

Following the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon in October, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has restarted work on 645 roads—covering 297.49 kilometres—under its large-scale concretisation programme. Data shows that more than 60 per cent of the resumed works are located in the western suburbs. Officials said the civic body aims to complete concretisation on 80 per cent of the roads where fresh work has begun by January 2026. Launched in 2022, the Rs 170 billion project seeks to concretise 700 kilometres of roads across Mumbai. All civil works were halted during the monsoon ..

Infrastructure Urban

05 Dec 2025

India Pushes Digital Shift In Urban Land Mapping

The Department of Land Resources (DoLR) under the Ministry of Rural Development has convened a National Symposium on NAKSHA – the National Geospatial Knowledge-based Land Survey of Urban Habitations – to advance India’s transition to modern, technology-driven land mapping. Speaking at the inaugural session, Secretary Manoj Joshi underscored the urgent need to move revenue departments away from outdated, tape-based methods and rough hand-drawn sketches. He stressed that adopting latitude–longitude-based digital mapping and GIS-linked registration systems is essential for economic stabi..